THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ HOMES RISE A 145pc surge in new homes being registered in London this summer helped drive a general rise across the country. Some 5,774 were registered in the capital between June and August, compared with 2,354 in the same three months in 2017. Across the UK, 42,547 new homes were registered an 11pc rise, the National House Building Council said.

■ INSURER SWOOPS S The UK’s largest indepen independent insurance broker, ker, Ardonagh Group, has acquired car-to-home insurer i Swinton for £165m. Ardon Ardonagh already owns brands such as Autonet and motorbike bike specialist Carole Nash.

■ TALKS HEL HELD Oil firm Shell is in talks to buy a stake s in an oil and gas project from Russian statecontrolled controlled firm Gazprom.

■ TRUST BON BOND Devon’s Dartington ton Hall Trus Trust, a charity which organises cultural cultu and educational events, is launching launc a £20m bond to fund improvements improvem to the estate.

■ CUP BONANZA BONA Summer drink sales soared – but food fell – at restaurant and pubs chain Mitchells

and Butlers, fed by hot weather and World Cup fever. The All Bar One owner said sales rose 0.9pc over the 11 weeks to July 28. Food then picked up, and underlying like-forlike sales rose 2.2pc in the following eight weeks.

■ FRENCH M MOVE Budget airline Ryanair is opening open French bases, in Bordeaux and Marseille, to fly 3.5m people a year o on 27 new routes.

■ LAW MERGER Law firm Gordon Dadds is in talks to merge with rival Ince & Co in a deal that would create the largest law business on the London Stock Exchange.

■ TECH BACKING US-based technology incubator Allied Minds invested £ 9.1m during the six months to the end of June in firms such as restaurant marketing technology Table Up and energy sector monitor Orbital Sidekick.

■ WEALTH GROWS Household wealth in the UK grew just 3pc last year, according to insurer Allianz, much less than the 7.7pc seen globally. Allianz said more households should be encouraged to invest.

■ HEADING OFF Rachel EliasJones, the chief financial officer of mobile payments firm Bango, is stepping down in November.

■ RUSSIA DEAL Plexus’s Russian licensee is to supply Gazprom with equipment to build shallow water exploration gas wells.